


Spoils to the Victor

by NonCanonMCDStories (OMsRandomWriter)



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft diaries - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Dies, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 09:38:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21116630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMsRandomWriter/pseuds/NonCanonMCDStories
Summary: Sometimes war doesn't go as planned...





	Spoils to the Victor

She watched over the burning village, tears streaming down her face as she held him close, the wound having done too much for even her to heal. ‘_Is this why she chose not to feel anymore?_’ she thought, staring at the blurry version of her son, of Levin, heart feeling as if it was going to rip in two.

It had been years since she had found him that morning at her door, and now, as he struggled to breathe and stay conscious, the reborn Goddess found it a bit ironic that he’d be the last thing she saw, much like she was the first thing he remembered.

Forcing herself to take a deep, sobbing breath, she stood, ignoring how his dead (the thought of that word with him made her weak and dizzy) weight strained her arms, and began to move towards the docks, where Dante and Travis were frantically making sure everyone was safe.

“Aphmau, Levin and Malachi, they’re-!” The bluenette stopped at the sight of his Lord, shaking with adrenaline, pain, shock and sorrow, holding one of her far too limp sons, and the glint in her eyes told him all he needed to know as the two men rushed forward, Travis taking Levin while Dante caught Aphmau before she could hit the ground.

Late, back at Alliance Island, two graves were dug, one empty, the other holding the Last Lord of Phoenix Drop. Aphmau’s screams as she woke to remember both of her sons had died in her arms had been just as, if not more, heart breaking as when Aaron had died. Dante looked at the grave beside the two new ones and knelt down, head bowed.

“If only you were here Garroth,” he murmured, doing his best not to remember the sickening sounds of Shad tearing the guard, his _shield-brother_, apart for Esmund’s relic. “She needs you and Laurence… like in the old days…”

Laurence was still missing, having last been spotting fighting other Shadow Knights just before Phoenix Drop went up in flames. Dante had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well, even if they did win.

* * *

Aphmau stared at the shallow grave in a type of horrid numbness, legs collapsing from under her as she started at the bloodied, blue hair of Dante, Nekoette and Dmitri. She heard white noise and saw nothing but red as her hands flew up to her head and she screamed.

She screamed for Alina and Lilith Garnet, her darling girls, the first ones killed by Shad.

She screamed for Garroth and Vylad, torn apart for trying to keep her safe.

She screamed for Dale, Molly, Logan and Donna, tortured into insanity and then dumped in the ocean to drown.

For Levin and Malachi, her precious boys, who died in her arms only a few minutes apart.

For Kawaii~chan, who lost her magic and now her family.

But, mostly, she screamed for her, to feel anything aside from the _numbness_.

* * *

_It’s just me now,_ she thought, looking at the book in hand before holding it to her chest. “Did you know,” she whispered, closing her eyes and imagining everyone she lost around her, happy and smiling and living. “That today, all those years ago…” she held the book tighter and felt tears rolling down her hallowed cheeks. “Today was the first day I met you Garroth? T-Today was the day that… that we…” she broke down in sobs as the book fell onto the grave stone and she crossed her arms, giving herself a hug as the autumn breeze played with her hair.

“Aphmau,” jumping, she turned to see Laurence, impossible, Shadow Knight Laurence, a few yards away, an unreadable expression on his face. “You’re going to get sick.”

“I don’t care,” she barked out, unable to stop her harsh laugh. “Haven’t you heard? I haven’t cared in years. Who's to say I never cared at all?” He flinched as she threw his words back in his face before letting out a growl and lunging forward, dragging her up and into the ramshackle house that was in desperate need of repairs.

“Do you honestly think that? That you never once cared for Alina? Or Lilith? What about Garroth, Levin and Malachi?” As he spoke, she felt… anger. Anger at him, for his words. “Dante was you _brother!_”

“_You don’t think I know that?!_” she snapped back, a spark of life coming to her eyes for the first time in years. “You don’t think I can’t remember how they felt? How we used to laugh an-and cry together?! You’re the one who left! You’re the one who abandoned us when we needed you the most!”

He was silent for a second, red eyes glancing over her carefully, and she looked clore enough to see that spark of guilt. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I did abandon you. I could’ve come back after a few Nether years, but… I was scared. Too scared.”

“Of what?” she asked mutely before shaking her head a bit bitterly. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re all that’s left… and even if you were to stay… you’d just end up killing me to stop the hallucinations.” they sat in a quiet silence, neither one wanting to speak as the fire burned weakly.

* * *

In the end and a fit of irony, she died protecting him in the Nether, much like he had done so all that time ago. As he stared at her from the otherside of the iron bars, she grinned at him, a bit tearfully as she reached though, gently placing a hand on his cheek.

“Go,” she whispered. “Tell our story. Tell the world about how Phoenix Drop rose, and of the War of Magi. Tell them how we, for a short time, became the Realm Protectors.”

“If I leave,” he choked out, hand going to grasp her own. “You’ll die.”

“We’ll both die if you do not,” she countered. “But if you leave, Laurence… I’ll still live. We _all_ will still be alive, in the stories you tell. Don’t let the world forget us. Don’t let the world forget the ones who won’t stop fighting, even in death.”

Turning his face and giving her hand a tender kiss, he gave her one last teary look before stepping away, not truly turning and running away until he was off the bridge and could no longer see the Shadow Knight fortress.

* * *

It was perhaps thousands of years later when Aphmau Shanashaska was born when the books were rediscovered, and the truth was revealed. By then, not a whisper of doubt said that Shad had never once been the evil lord the books made him to be, and they had been written off as nothing but resistance propaganda.

Sixteen years after that, a teenager sad in the public library, doing her best to research the Olde Goddess, Eirene. All she found, however, was of Shad, and his heroic defeat against the Phoenix Alliance and his rogue knight. With a groan, she turned the page. “I hate research,” she mumbled, scanning the paragraphs before freezing. Aphmau frowned at the name in the book, eyes squinting as she leaned forward. “Why is my name the same as one of the worst villains history?” she mumbled, and there was a soft, sad noise from the elf beside her. Turning to the blonde, she saw her ancient, old smile, perhaps a bit too sorrowful as she spoke

“Haven’t you heard? History is often written in the eyes of the victor.” Looking over her, she felt like she looked familiar, as if she had been a close childhood friend.

“I’m sorry,” she said, closing her book. “Do I know you?” If anything, the elf’s smile grew both bitter and sad.

“I hoped this day would come, though I wish it had been sooner,” she murmured. “Your name is in the books because you are Reincarnated. You were once Lord Aphmau, leader of the Phoenix Alliance” Her amber eyes narrowed and she stood up sharply, chair scraping the floor harshly. 

“I don’t know you,” she snarled. “And whoever you think I am, it’s it not fucking _reincarnated_. So don’t assume you know me.” The teenager stormed off, leaving the elf alone.

“Perhaps not this you, but you are Aphmau, the Matron Irene, and one day, you will see what I mean...” she agreed softly, reaching into her back and pulling out a book, the last of its kind. Within the first page sat a familiar photo, one taken just before the storm came.

With a pained sigh, Zoey Taltatheil placed her book into the girl’s bag and stood, feeling the wear of time on her as she did so.

Distantly, she could hear the sound of Levin's laughter and the sound of Malachi's giggle before she remembered that they had been reborn. With a sad smile, she walked down the stairs, eyes closing, feeling herself fade with every step.


End file.
